Little Jake N' Bells
by NikkiB1973
Summary: This is a little set of stories featuring young Jake and Bells. Originally written for my niece! I hope you enjoy! Set way before Twilight AU...
1. Chapter 1

**Little Jake N' Bells**

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

_**A/N-this story is dedicated to my niece who loves stories about young Jake and Bella. This is for you Amy!**_

**Chapter 1-Fishing **

Jake put on his wellingtons and raincoat, he made sure to pull the hood up because his mom had told him that he could catch a cold if he got wet. He lifted up his miniature fishing rod; the exact replica of his dad's and grinned. It had been his special birthday present for his fourth birthday; it was a bright red colour, his favourite. He had been begging his mom and dad for weeks to buy him one, his best friend Quil had a blue version and had been boasting that it was way better than any fishing rod that anyone else owned. Jake had become annoyed by Quil's bragging and had told him loudly that he could catch more fish with his red fishing rod. Quil had shaken his head mutinously and the two had finally settled the argument after fighting it out. Jake had emerged the victor and a sullen Quil had declared they were no longer friends, which only lasted until lunch time because by then they had forgotten what they had argued about.

Today Jake and his dad were going to be joined on their fishing trip by his dad's best friend, Charlie Swan. Jake liked Charlie Swan because he always failed to catch any fish. His dad would tease him, which made Jake laugh, as he saw Charlie's moustache bristle in annoyance. Jake wanted one of those when he was grown up. His mom had told Jake that all boys got hairy when they were older and would have liked his dad to grow one, just to see if it would suit him. Jake had asked his dad about that and he had burst out laughing. His dad said he had enough trouble keeping the tangles out of the long hair on his head without having to maintain a caterpillar along his lip. Jake had escaped to the yard and dug for a worm, he had taken it into the bathroom and laid it along his top lip just to see if a moustache would suit him. He had smiled at his reflection in the mirror and thought he was definitely a handsome boy, like his mom always told him.

Jake trudged out into the yard, holding his fishing rod carefully out in front of him. His two sisters, Rebecca and Rachel were hanging around his dad, demanding to come along for the trip.

"Sorry girls not this time. This is a man's trip only today." Billy had laughed as the twins both stamped their feet at the same time.

"That's not fair..." They whined in unison.

Billy hunkered down in front of his daughters and pulled them into a quick bear hug. "Come on girls, I promise I will take you into Port Angeles at the end of the week that will be your treat."

"I suppose so..." Rebecca gave in grudgingly.

"Yeah..." Rachel pouted. "It would be boring having to babysit Jake anyway. Will you bring home a special fish for me daddy?"

"Of course sweetheart, one for each of you..." Billy stood back up and ruffled his daughter's hair. "Tell your mom that we won't be gone for too long."

"Yes, daddy..." The twins turned around and ran into the house completely ignoring their younger brother like they always did. Jake didn't care; he thought all girls were stupid, except for his mom.

"Ready Jake," Billy smiled at his young son.

Jake pushed the hood back from his head and gave him a big grin. "Yeah, I'm ready to be a man now..."

Billy laughed at his son's declaration. "Not quite yet, Jake. It will take a few more fishing trips before you become one of those."

Jake frowned and poked out his bottom lip. "How many?"

"Ooh at least a hundred..." Billy replied playfully.

One hundred! No way, that was a big number, way more than he could count. This growing into a man business was more complicated then he thought. Maybe there was a quicker way to become one, he really wanted that moustache. An idea formed in his mind; perhaps he could ask Charlie Swan how he grew his caterpillar. With that settled he followed his dad toward the truck and let Billy lift him into the front seat to buckle him up.

XXXXXX

Jake was not happy, this was supposed to be a man only trip and there standing in front of him was none other than a girl, just like his sisters. She was pale and skinny, with long brown hair. She held a fishing rod limply in her hand.

"Daddy, you said this was a man only trip. Why is the girlie here?" he demanded.

Billy gave his son a sheepish smile. "I know, but Charlie's daughter is being an honorary boy today, aren't you sweetie?"

The girl looked taken aback by Billy's declaration and shuffled behind her dad's legs to hide. "I don't like boys." She mumbled.

Charlie exchanged an exasperated look with Billy. "Now Bella, Jake is a nice boy..."

Bella poked her head out from behind her dad's legs and stared at the dark haired boy who was glaring at her, his bottom lip poking out in annoyance. She made sure her dad was not watching and she stuck her tongue out at him. Jake's eyes opened wide in shock. This girlie was horrible. He stuck his own tongue out and waggled his hands behind his ears in retaliation. Unfortunately Billy saw what his son was doing and told him off for being rude.

"I not rude, girlie is being mean." Jake tried to explain.

Bella stood next to her dad, holding her fishing rod tightly in her hands, looking wide eyed and innocent. "I never did anything daddy." She said softly.

Charlie patted her gently on the head. "Come on Bells, young Jake was expecting this to be a man only trip. Be a good girl and join in the fun. I am sure Jake will say sorry."

All eyes turned onto a red faced Jake. He planted his feet firmly on the ground and shook his head no. "Girlie did it, not me..."

The two men gave heavy sighs as they looked at their children. It looked like the battle lines were drawn.

XXXXXX

Jake was placed next to his dad and Bella sat beside hers. They both sat in their little picnic chairs, fishing rods in hands occasionally shooting each other dirty looks. The two men relaxed and chatted idly as they kept an eye on their bait. Twenty minutes passed and the two youngsters were getting bored. Bella began to fidget and when she glanced over at Jake out of the corner of her eye, she noticed he was doing the same. A smile crossed her lips as she picked up a lump of mud and threw in his direction. It landed on his head and splattered over his hair. He gave a loud yelp and stood up trying to brush the wet earth off of his head. Bella began giggling to herself at his reaction and bent down to pick up another lump of mud. While she was distracted she didn't notice that Jake had recovered from his shock at being pelted with mud. He quickly scooped up some dirt and flung it in her direction.

"Take that, girlie..." he crowed as he saw it sail through the air and hit her in the face.

"Daddy," She bellowed loudly. "That boy threw mud at me..."

Charlie broke off his conversation with Billy and glanced at his daughter in concern. Her face was covered with dirty streaks. His head whipped round as he stared at Jake, he too was covered in mud. Something told him that his sweet little girl was not telling the whole truth. He nodded at Billy and the two men each took hold of their respective offspring and marched them over to the truck.

"Right, Jake. I know that you were expecting it to be just us men today but well, Charlie's daughter is paying him a visit and we thought you would have the good grace to behave and make friends. I am very disappointed in you, son." Billy said sadly making his son's head hang in shame.

"That applies to you too, Bells." Charlie reprimanded his daughter. "You are two years older than Jake and I expected more from you. Now we are going back to our fishing, we want you two to sit here and think about what you have done. Is that clear?"

"Yes daddy..." Bella hid her face behind her long hair.

"Yes daddy..." Jake replied at the same time, sneaking glances at the girl beside him. She was really two years older? She was small for a six year old, he was only four and way taller.

The two men nodded in satisfaction and went to sit back in front of the small lake, leaving the two children to sort their own problems out. Bella glared at Jake and crossed her arms in a defiant pose. Jake copied her movements and glowered back at her. Bella scowled and Jake mimicked her expression.

"Stop copying me..." She whispered fiercely so her dad wouldn't hear.

"Stop copying me..." Jake said at the same time, using a whining tone.

"I don't speak like that..." Bella declared stepping closer to Jake and poking him in the chest.

"Yes you do..."

"No I don't..."

"Do..."

"Don't..."

"Do..." Jake said loudly.

Bella's anger began to boil over, all boys were idiots, but this one was the worst she had ever met. "You're stupid..." She yelled at him.

"No, you're the stupid one, girlie."He roared back at her.

"My name is Bella, not girlie..."

"Bells..." Jake stumbled over her name, his irritation with her making him pronounce it incorrectly.

Bella stamped her foot. "B-E-L-L-A spells Bella, not Bells."

Jake's lips quirked up into a smile. He was enjoying annoying this girlie, she had barged in on the men only fishing trip after all. "Bells," he repeated stubbornly.

"You are so annoying Jake..." She snapped at him, finally using his name.

"You are annoying too, Bells" he said in agreement.

Bella rolled her eyes at him and sat down on the ground, not caring that the wet earth soaked through her jeans. She leaned her elbows on her knees and propped her chin in her hands. "I am no good at fishing..." She admitted.

"All girlies are no good at fishing. Rach and Beck never catch anything," Jake informed her agreeably as he sat down next to her.

"Who are Rach and Beck?" Bella asked curiously, her irritation completely forgotten.

"My stupid sisters," Jake informed her. "They can't do anything, not even build a mud pie. "

Bella's face brightened. "I can do that. I am brilliant at making mud pies."

Jake looked at her dubiously. "Girlies can't make mud pies, only boys."

"I'll show you..." Bella stood up and waltzed over to a particularly wet patch of earth. She started to gather the mud in her hands and pile it into a heap. She then began to mould it into the shape of a pie. Jake's mouth dropped open in surprise as he watched her make the best mud pie he had ever seen, it was much better than his or even Quil's.

When she had finished Bella sat back on her heels and gave him a smug smile. "Well?"

Jake dropped onto his knees beside her and assessed her handiwork. There was denying it, this girlie was a superior mud pie maker. Maybe she wasn't so stupid after all. He gave her a friendly grin. "Good work, Bells."

Bella was about to state once again that her name was Bella and not 'Bells' when she saw the sunny grin spread across Jake's face. She liked it when he did that. Her own mouth formed into a smile and they gazed at each other for a moment. Bella broke the stare and began scooping up some more mud to make another pie.

"Wanna help me?" She asked politely this time.

"Sure..." Jake agreed, deciding that he would like this girl to be his friend after all.

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Little Jake N' Bells**

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

_**A/N-Thanks for the lovely reviews you all left on the last chapter. You put a big smile on my face! Nikki **_

**Chapter 2-The Investigative Reporters**

Jacob and Bella were brought back from the impromptu fishing trip covered from head to toe in mud. Jacob's mom, Sarah Black, gasped in astonishment when she caught sight of the bedraggled looking duo. She glared at her husband and Charlie who grinned back at her sheepishly.

"That look is not going to work this time, Billy Black. You promised that you would keep an eye on Jake. What did you do, pour mud over these poor children?" She fumed.

Jacob strolled over and tugged on his mom's hand. "Me and Bells made mud pies. I wanted to bring one home but daddy said I couldn't eat them."

Sarah tried not to laugh at her son's statement, he looked so crestfallen. Her eyes travelled over to Charlie's daughter, Bella. She gave her a shy smile and tried to hide behind her long hair. "Well I think you two need to wash up. Bella sweetie, come with me and I will show you the bathroom. Jacob can go in after you. "

Bella nodded and gazed up at Sarah in wonder as she took her hand. "Thank you Mrs Black." She said politely.

Sarah gave her an encouraging smile. "No problem. You can borrow some of the twin's clothes, although they might be a bit big on you. Is that okay? Just until yours dry out a bit."

Bella gave her another shy smile and allowed Jacob's mom to lead her to the bathroom. Jacob watched them go in annoyance. Bells had promised him that they were going to ask her dad about how he grew his caterpillar. When he had questioned her about it she said that she had no idea. She thought maybe he had to water it every morning, like the plants in her mom's kitchen. She told Jacob that her dad spent ages in the bathroom of a morning and she had seen him use some sort of scissor things to clip at the ends to keep the caterpillar tidy.

Jacob had been intrigued by this image and he kept glancing over at Charlie, looking at his top lip closely to see if the caterpillar grew while he watched. He had seen no change and he was getting quite annoyed at not being able to find out. He waited impatiently for Bells to come out of the bathroom. When she did return twenty minutes later, she was dressed in his sister Rachel's oldest pair of jeans. Even they were too long. She had rolled the bottoms up and the t-shirt she was wearing hung loosely around her.

"You look silly..." Were the first words out of his mouth and Bells hung her head. Jacob felt a bit guilty after seeing his new friend look so upset so he changed tack. "You don't look as stupid as Rach though."

Bella raised her head again and gave him a smile. "Really?"

"Yeah..." Jacob replied, beaming back at her. He was just about to ask Bells about finding out from her dad about the caterpillar, when his mom hauled him off to the bathroom for a wash and change of clothes.

XXXXXX

Bella was observing Sarah whip up some food for the men as they yelled at the TV. They were watching a Mariner's game and were not happy that their favourite team was on another losing streak. Even though Jacob secretly wanted to spend time with Bella he stayed to watch the game. As he was a boy he was supposed to like the Mariner's, his dad had said so.

Sarah caught Bella watching her and she gave her a smile. "Hey sweetie, what are you thinking about so hard?"

Bella placed her head on the palms of her hands and gazed at Sarah with her expressive brown eyes. "I was wondering how to find out about caterpillars?" She said softly.

"Caterpillars?" Sarah asked in confusion.

"Yeah, my dad has one and Jake wanted to know how he grew it. Jake wants to have one when he is a man." Bella explained. "Do you know how my dad grows the caterpillar?" She enquired hopefully.

Sarah tried to keep a straight face, trust her son to ask something like that. "Look Bella you know the best way to find out from your dad?"

"No, how?" Bella leaned forward, an eager expression crossing her face.

"Well, have you ever seen a newspaper and wondered how the writers find out about their stories?" Sarah questioned her. Bella shook her head. "Well they go out and investigate them and find out what they want to know by asking the person who they are writing about and also looking for clues."

Bella's face lit up. "Can I be an investi...investygaty thingy?"

Sarah ruffled Bella's hair. "Of course, all you need is a pencil and a pad to jot down your findings. Wait there sweetie and I will get you one."

Bella's eyes shone when she held the sacred pencil and pad in her hands. She felt eager to start right away. Sarah smiled at the young girl; she gathered Bella's hair into a neat ponytail and wound it around another pencil. "There you go, you are all set. Why not ask Jake to be your co reporter. I can see he is getting bored of the game."

Bella nodded her head again eagerly and turned on her heel and skipped over to Jacob. He gazed at her in surprise as she leaned down to his ear and whispered her plan to find out about her dad's caterpillar. A sunny grin spread across Jacob's face, this idea sounded so much more fun than watching the Mariner's lose another game. He didn't need to watch any more games, once he found out how to grow a caterpillar he would be a man.

XXXXXX

The game was just coming to an end and Charlie and Billy were sitting drinking their beers, commiserating with each other. A small voice saying 'Ahem,' made them turn in that direction. Standing to one side of them was their offspring. Bella was holding a pencil and a writing pad in her hand. She had another pencil wound in her long hair. Jacob had borrowed his dad's old fishing hat; it was too large on his head and kept slipping over his eyes. Draped over his shoulders was his raincoat. Bella was wearing her dad's coat, the arms were too long and it dragged along the floor. The two men exchanged a puzzled glance. What was going on?

"What are you two dressed up like that for, kiddo?" Charlie asked in bewilderment.

Bella frowned and began to write furiously in her childish scrawl on the pad. "We are investi...invesygaty thingys." She replied proudly.

"Huh?" Billy looked at his son who was getting irritated that the hat kept blocking his view. "What's an investy thingy do?"

Jacob pouted at his dad's silly question. Grownups were so stupid. "We looking for clues..." he informed them.

Charlie gave them both a bright smile. "Oh, you want to be police detectives like me?"

"No, daddy," Bella stamped her foot at his misunderstanding. "We investy thingys. You don't do anything all det...detectivey thingys are boring."

"Yeah..." Jake echoed her.

Billy burst out laughing at this bold statement and Charlie shot him a dark look. "My job is very important Bells. I have to go out on emergency calls and investigate things. I have a very interesting job."

Bella chewed on her bottom lip. "But daddy when I went with you that one time, you were just sitting at your desk, eating a doughnut and drinking coffee. Mac said that is all you ever do."

Charlie eye's narrowed as he thought about his deputy; Mac was going to be in so much trouble when he went back to work. He tried to muster up a smile as he could see that the two children were dying to ask a question. Bella was hopping from one foot to the other, while Jacob was scratching his nose.

"Never mind that now, what is it you want to ask us?" He enquired, trying to block out Billy's laughter.

Bella flipped over to a fresh page on her pad and beamed at her dad. "Well we want to know how you grow it."

"Grow it? Grow what, kiddo?"

"The hairy caterpillar..." Jacob interjected, pointing a small finger at Charlie's lip.

This made Billy collapse into another fit of laughter. The stunned expression on Charlie's face was priceless. "Oh this is a classic old man. Well done kids, "

Jacob and Bella were totally bewildered by their father's reactions. What was going on? Grownups were not only stupid, but weird as well. Bella sighed, this investy thingy was harder then she thought. She decided to plough ahead with her questions however.

"Daddy, do you water it?" She demanded.

"Water it?"

"Yes, daddy, do you water it?" Bella was getting impatient now.

"Water what?" Charlie asked, completely confused over what she was asking.

"The hairy caterpillar on your lip...right there." Jacob marched over and poked Charlie's moustache.

Tears were now leaking out of Billy's eyes as he watched Charlie and the two children interacting. He had not laughed like this in years. He finally managed to regain his breath. "Son, that is not a hairy caterpillar that is Charlie's moustache. "

Jacob frowned. "But you said it was a hairy caterpillar. You said that you had enough trouble keeping the tangles out of your head without growing a hairy caterpillar on your lip." He quoted his dad verbatim.

Billy glanced sideways and saw Charlie glaring at him. "That was a joke, Jake. You shouldn't take everything people tell you seriously."

While all this was going on, Bella was writing as much down as she could in her pad. She found it hard to spell some words but she jotted most of it down. Jacob's mom would be proud once she read through the clues she had collected. She decided to ask another question.

"Daddy, how do you make the hairy caterpillar grow?"

"Bells, it's a moustache, not a hairy caterpillar." Charlie corrected her again. "It grows like the hair on your head. I don't water it."

Bella noted this information down. "How old do you have to be to grow one? Do you become a man when it happens?"

Charlie felt mystified by all these probing questions about his moustache. He began to instinctively stroke it. "Yes, kiddo, you have to be a man to grow one."

Jacob's face fell when he heard Charlie say this. "How long does it take to be a man? Daddy says I have to go fishing one hundred times and watch Mariner's games to be a man."

Billy grimaced at his son repeating everything he had told him. Who knew that Jake would take him so literally? His son had excellent recall as he had quoted him exactly. "Jake, why don't you enjoy just being a boy for a while? You have plenty of time to grow up and be a man."

Jacob sighed and shoved the hat off of his head. He was getting bored of this investy thingy now. His little tummy was rumbling and he wanted some food. He saw that Bells was getting fidgety too. "I'm hungry," he announced.

Billy smiled. "That's more like the boy I know, always eating. Come on then son. I bet your mom has made us all some lovely snacks. "He declared; glad to get off the topic of hairy caterpillars.

The two children ran ahead into the kitchen to see what Sarah had rustled up while the two men followed slowly behind. Charlie gripped onto Billy's shoulder and drew him to a halt. "So my moustache looks like a hairy caterpillar, huh?"

Billy laughed uneasily. "It was just a joke, Chief."

Charlie gave Billy a hard slap on his shoulder. "Of course it was. Don't worry, I won't tell you what Sarah said about the hair on your head." he said winking at his old friend as he strode past him to join the others in the kitchen.

_**A/N-Thanks for reading! **_


	3. Chapter 3

**Little Jake 'N Bells**

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

**Chapter Three-Bowling Buddies**

Bella sat at the breakfast table swinging her legs back and forth, she rested her elbows on the table and propped her chin in her hands as she looked up at her dad with a hopeful expression. Charlie could feel his daughters eyes burning a hole though his paper, so he reluctantly folded it up and gave her his full attention.

"What is it, kiddo?"

Bella beamed at him as she sat up straighter in her chair. "Can we go now?"

"Go where?" Charlie asked in confusion. He couldn't remember having promised to take her out today.

Bella pouted. "Daaaddy, you promised to take me and Jake bowling today..."

"I did? When was that?" Charlie tried to recall exactly what he had said the night before. He and Billy had settled in front of the flat screen watching the Mariner's lose yet another game. He remembered consuming quite a few beers to cheer himself up. Billy had too, his friend had ended up staying the night on the couch before driving back home that morning.

Bella folded her arms, looking very like her mother used to when she was just about to deliver a lecture. "Last night when I kept coming down the stairs and interrupting the game, you said...'kiddo, if you stay in bed like a good little girl, than I promise to take you and Jake bowling in the morning'..." she parroted his exact words of the night before.

Charlie winced, he vaguely recollected having made that promise. Who knew that his daughter had a photographic memory? "Yeah, I suppose I did say that, didn't I..." he admitted grudgingly.

Bella nodded. "So, can we go now, please?" She whined.

Charlie agreed reluctantly. He hated bowling, mainly because even in his youth he had been awful at it. Of course, Billy and Harry had been experts and had fun teasing him about his awful aim and funny running style when he went to throw the bowling ball. Well at least they wouldn't be there today, it would be just him and the two youngsters. He could just sit back and relax while they tired themselves out playing. A smile slowly crept across Charlie's face, may be this wasn't such a bad idea after all?

XXXXXX

Jacob kept bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet as they waited at the counter for the assistant to hand them their bowling shoes. "Are they here yet, I want to start throwing the balls. I bet I can chuck it higher then you, Bells?" He boasted.

Bella glared at him. He had been bragging about his skills all the way to Port Angeles. In the end she had put her hands over her ears and sang a song to drown him out. This had annoyed Jake greatly and he had crossed his arms and refused to talk the rest of the way to the bowling alley. However now they were here he had perked up again.

"You don't chuck bowling balls, Jake. You roll them. Have you really been before?" She asked him suspiciously.

Jacob's cheeks reddened. "Well kinda...we played bowling In our back yard with a sponge ball. I always knocked the plastic bottles over..." He told her.

Bella's face brightened at this piece of news. She could see that he was embarrassed and decided to be magnanimous and not tease him about it. "Look the shoes are here..." she said as a distraction.

The assistant handed the shoes to Charlie and yawned. "Do you want the bars up or down?" She drawled.

"Up..." Charlie said instantly.

"Do you need the children's frame for the little kiddies?" She asked in a bored tone.

"We are not kiddies. I am nearly a man..." Jacob yelled up, offended at being lumped in with the toddlers.

Charlie shushed Jacob and glared at the assistant. "Yes if it is not too much effort..."

The assistant just blew out a bubble and popped it before giving Charlie an irritated look. "Whatever..." she mumbled as she continued chewing on her gum. "You're on lane 12."

Charlie watched the assistant stroll nonchalantly off and he shook his head irritably. "Teenagers..." he grumbled.

XXXXXX

Jacob's eye's widened as he stared at all the different sized bowling balls. He watched as Charlie picked two pink balls and hand one to Bella and then try to give one to him. Jacob's bottom lip poked out and he shook his head. "I don't want girlie ball. I want a black ball..." he pointed over at the line of black bowling balls.

"Jake, those balls are for the adults. You are only five, this is not a girl's ball, it goes by weight and the lightest balls happen to be coloured pink..." Charlie tried to explain.

Jacob glared up at him disbelievingly. "Don't want pink ball. I am strong..." He pulled up the sleeve of his jumper and flexed his skinny arm. "See?"

Bella, who was getting increasingly impatient, marched over to stand in front of Jake. "I just want to play, take the bowling ball Jake, it doesn't matter what colour it is..."

He shook his head stubbornly. "No, I won't play with a girlie ball."

"Ugh..." Bella groaned. "Just stay there like an idiot then. I am off to play..."

Jacob watched as Bella strode over to the long bowling lane, holding the ball carefully in her right hand. Her tongue poked out as she tried to judge the distance and angle. After a few seconds of this, she took a few hopping steps toward the lane and, as she was about to bowl, her natural clumsiness caught up with her. Her foot slipped on the shiny surface and she landed on her butt, the bowling ball just dropped out of her hand and rolled slowly down the end of alley totally missing all the skittles.

Tears sprouted out of her eyes and Charlie's head began to hurt as he finally remembered why he never took his daughter bowling very often. "Daaaddy," she wailed. "I hurt myself..."

Charlie sighed as he went to help her up. He knew that it was going to be a long morning.

XXXXXX

After twenty minutes of coaxing Jacob was finally persuaded to use the pink bowling ball. He refused to use the metal frame to help him bowl the ball, insisting that as he was nearly a man, he could do it like everyone else. Charlie let out a resigned sigh as he watched Billy's son stride confidently up to the lane and with intense concentration throw the bowling ball right down the centre of the alley. Bella and her dad stared in wonder as the ball hit the skittles dead centre, knocking them all down.

"STRIKE..." Jacob yelled, bouncing up and down as he cheered.

Bella glanced between her dad and Jacob, annoyed tears glistening in her eyes. She was older than Jake, how come she couldn't bowl like that? Petty jealousy made her feel mean. Her mouth turned down as she shot Jacob a resentful look. "Cheater..." she called out to him.

Charlie raised his eyes to heaven as Jacob stopped cheering and glared over at his daughter. "I am not a cheat, take that back..."

"No..."

"Yes..."

"No..."

"YES..." Jacob shouted louder.

"N O spells NO..." Bella yelled back at him, stamping her foot like a tantruming toddler.

"I hate you..." Jacob declared crossing his arms and turning his back on her.

"Well I hate you too..." Bella shot back, copying his movements.

The two of them stood with their backs to each other, a despairing Charlie standing between them.

XXXXXX

The stand off went on for a good five minutes before Charlie managed to persuade them to give the bowling another go. He promised Bella that he would help her bowl and he eventually got Jacob to promise to give Bella some tips. Grudgingly the two youngsters gave each other resentful apologies and once again armed themselves with the pink bowling balls. Jacob took the next go and expertly managed to hit another strike. Charlie thought how much like Billy Jacob was. Bella joined Jacob at the edge of the lane and he began to describe how he threw the ball. He was going into so much detail that she became fidgety and Charlie had to intervene and tell her it was time for her go.

"Why don't you use the frame, Bells? It will be so much easier..." He suggested.

"No I am not two, dad..." she muttered. "I thought you were helping me."

"Alright, kiddo..." Charlie said tiredly. He leaned down and helped angle her arm into position. "Now keep it like that and throw..."

Bella did as he said and the ball once again rolled down the side of the alley, only knocking down one skittle. Her face flushed red as she heard Jake laugh."Daddy, I can't do it..." she whined."You show me..."

Charlie gave her a sheepish smile. " Just keep practising, Bells. I am sure..."

"Please daddy..." Bella pleaded, giving him the full force of her big brown eyes.

Charlie caved in and went to retrieve one of the black balls. He felt Jacob and Bella's eyes boring into him as he pulled his arm back, his eyes trained to the alley, assessing the best angle to bowl the ball. He hopped a couple of steps forward as he prepared himself to let go of the ball. Unfortunately the lazy assistant who had first served them had dropped her used gum on the floor when she had brought the frame over to them. Charlie's shoe slid on the gum and he fell on his butt, the bowling ball dropping out of his hand and rolling off to one side, missing the skittles completely.

Jacob and Bella exchanged a look and both suddenly burst into laughter as they watched poor Charlie trying to get back on his feet.

"I love bowling..." Jacob gasped out to Bella as he continued laughing.

"Me too," Bella agreed as she leaned against him as she tried to get her breath back. "This has been the best day ever..."

_**A/N-Thanks for reading...**_


End file.
